Developing a Rubric to Assess Student Learning Outcomes Using a Class Assignment

Abstract

We developed a rubric to assess several of our department's undergraduate student learning outcomes (SLOs). Target SLOs include applications of principles of research methodology, using appropriate statistics, adherence to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and written communication skills. We randomly sampled 20 percent (N = 55) of the final written manuscripts from several sections of a research methods course and trained 2 graduate-level raters to use the rubric to score the students' papers. We found statistically significant interrater reliability and convergent validity coefficients. These findings are discussed to encourage the development and evaluation of such rubrics to be used across colleges and universities.